Ready… Steady…Capture

"The joy of being a photographer mainly comes from knowing that after all is said and done, there are images that can transport someone back to a place and time that was significant and sentimental to them.”
Maria Thundu. Pic Courtesy: Mariathundu.com

Man? Woman? You have probably taken a photograph of yourself today.  This is no doubt the age of the “selfie” but is also  an era  where  more and more people  are  awakening  to the importance of quality photography especially here in Malawi.

One photographer famed for her high quality imagery is   Freelance Photographer  and the lady behind the majority of FAME Magazine’s  photography, Maria Thundu. The Soulful  photographer  gave us a glimpse of  current and future ventures behind the camera.

“I’m looking forward to providing images for Lake of Stars, FAME, which I’ve been a part of for the past few years, Mzuzu Fashion Week, which I hope to attend. Fortunately, there is a lot of work available and more people are learning to appreciate the value of high quality imagery, so there are a lot of opportunities.

Born in Malawi and bred in Ethiopia, Maria reveals that photography was not her first career line. Her’s was a journey of self-discovery that  began a few years ago while she worked as a successful copy-editor before returning home to start Mars Photography.

“Mars Photography blossomed over a two-year period, where I went from being unsure of what I was doing as someone new to the business and as a career change. I worked as a copy editor before I changed my line of work and I would take pictures regularly even then, but never thought of it as a full-time activity. It began with testing my skills as a photographer and building up my confidence and skills with each event.

“I began to take it more seriously and as a career option when I started receiving calls with job offers for photography. I had to wrap my head around the speed at which the interest grew, but I’m glad I held on through the pleasantly overwhelming turn of events.”

Today, Maria says she is doing what she loves most. Hers is a dream come true, a destiny on course.

“Carving a place in society through my work in photography allows me to do what I love while giving people lifetime memories that they can cherish. The joy of being a photographer mainly comes from knowing that after all is said and done, there are images that can transport someone back to a place and time that was significant and sentimental to them.”

On path to success, dedication to work remains unparalleled … Noel Chalamanda shares

pic:Noel Chalamanda is taking public service delivery
a level higher

He is the new face of local Government.  Although Mayor, Noel Chalamanda has only been in office for a year, he has  revolutionized the way people interface with Local Councils and the delivery of public services  in Malawi’s Metropolitan  City of Blantyre.  The City’s Council has  been given a shot of efficiency served with a people-focus approach. The man behind it  recently shared his secret with  me Patricia Mtungila as I   wore the cap of freelancer.

 

“I am just a person who was born and raised in Blantyre and who understands what Blantyre was  is and could be if we all played our part…”

 Chalamanda says  that the secret behind Blantyre’s apt transformation  is

 

“Nothing magical. I respond to people’s queries through different media especially social media, listen to suggestions, take time to meet a lot of people in my office regardless of their age or status in society, listen and discuss issues.”

 Despite, this mammoth shift in  style of public service delivery, there are no grunts. The people of Blantyre completely adore Mayor Chalamanda for his ability to innovatively deliver on his promise to  serve  Blantyre residents  by bringing about tangible change to the streets of Blantyre in so little time.

Duty calls: Mayor Chalamanda meets visiting
 Zambian president Edgar
Lungu

The success of the Blantyre City Mayor, like any other lasting success, has by no means come  by means of rubbing a Ginny .
 

Behind this successful man are these heartwarming fans.
Pic: Chalamanda's wife Pempho and children

 

“On path to success, dedication to work remains unparalleled . Action is more appreciated than eloquence. We must try in all circumstances to do that which we have been tasked to do and if we can be innovative, even better,"  he says.

 

Crowning it all  Noel Chalamanda, who has made a name for himself in private practice as a lawyer, has an unmatched fashion sense and will not be spotted looking anything but flawless.

“I also took it from my mother, who would say then, 'why are you dressed like a christmas tree?' when the colors were really not properly matching! it is good manners to dress well!"

 

 

School's out!

The school playgrounds are empty to allow for Standard Ones to cross to Standard Two and  Two to be elevated to Standard three and so on. School's out, Malawi's pupils are resting home or visiting away. The picture was taken on July 31 at Mwatibu Primary School in Nathenje off the M1 Road from Lilongwe to Blantyre.

The power-porridge behind Malawi's healthy babies

 Malawi has some of the most chubby and lovely babies I have ever seen. In both rural and urban Malawi chubby babies are a pleasantly and common site.

No doubt we do have food challenges in parts of Malawi but the site of a chubby Malawian baby is hard to miss walking through Lilongwe or indeed other parts of this country.

So what are we feeding our chubby- babies?

I give my baby  a porridge made from a mixture of  legumes: soya and groundnuts and maize.

My baby started eating the highly nutritious porridge at 7 months

Roasted Soya and groundnuts mixed with healthy maize grains

The  nutritious porridge flour from the grains is easy to make and uses readily available local ingredients. 

Sociological side of Malawi’s flood challenge

Pic: Courtesy BBC 

Too much has taken place in Malawi in the past three months including the coming of Nigerian artist Davido and of course the floods. Most prominently and of course sadly are the floods. 

Since floods broke out in Malawi many have asked the question, why do people from Nsanje, the worst hit area, not relocate to higher lands that are safer?

Well, many years ago, I asked the very same question and came to the all-to- common conclusion that probably the people of Nsanje remain in these flood-prone areas to benefit from relief food and items. That is what most people say after all.

But really asking, Jackson Mtungila,an Engineer working   and staying in the Capital,  Lilongwe who is  a Sena from  Nsanje, I learn much more. It is really not about the relief goods. It is much more complex than that.

“People have stayed in those lands for generations and besides would there be enough resources to move all those people upland?” he says.

pic:Courtesy BBC

I realized that there is need for a more sociologically inclusive plan if the government of Malawi is to secure precious lives in the lower Shire Valley especially Nsanje District. People in this part of Malawi, who are mostly from the  Sena tribe, are known to have strong cultural values.

Living in these dangerous valleys is one deep-rooted cultural norm that will require a sociological intervention.  It will be an uphill task for government and the civil society but it can be done. So far, UNICEF indicates that since the onset of cyclones that have resulted in the deadly floods, 230 have already been displaced while number of dead  or missing stands at 276,  645 people had been injured.